Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Holdings Raised by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 148,102 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,459 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $53,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,980,629,000 after purchasing an additional 284,366 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,790,841,000 after acquiring an additional 236,315 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,294,505,000 after acquiring an additional 129,143 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $2,184,364,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,289,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,193,154,000 after purchasing an additional 61,723 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $359.36.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock traded up $11.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $306.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,873,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,643,390. The firm has a market cap of $146.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $323.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $361.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.